House Democrats Deliver Results for Hardworking Coloradans

(May 3) – House
Democrats went into the 2019 session focused on building a fair economy that
expands opportunity for all no matter what corner of the state you live in,
investing in our future, and protecting the Colorado Way of Life. This year
Colorado House Democrats were able to turn many of our popular proposals into
law, moving forward on measures to build a fair economy, lower the cost of
health care, invest in education, address climate change, tackle the opioid
crisis, reform our criminal justice system and help hardworking Coloradans get
ahead.

“Coloradans can be proud
of the work that was accomplished this session. We made historic investments in
K-12 and higher-ed and delivered results on climate, health care, and economic
security,” said Speaker Becker. “Despite
unprecedented obstructionism from the other side of the aisle we were able to
deliver results for hardworking families in every corner of our state. My
colleagues and I will continue working to expand opportunity, invest in
Colorado’s future and enhance our quality of life.”

EXPANDING OPPORTUNITY
& BUILDING A FAIR ECONOMY

Colorado’s economy is
booming for some but not for all. Too many hardworking Coloradans aren’t seeing
the benefit of our state’s progress and feel like they can’t get ahead. House
Democrats made important progress on leveling out the playing field for all
Coloradans:

Women, especially women of
color, should be paid equally for equal work. House Democrats are
committed to fighting for every Coloradan to be treated with the dignity,
fairness and the respect they deserve. That’s why we passed SB19-085 to continue working on solutions to expand opportunity
for all.

After years of trying, Democrats
passed HB19-1210 to allow local governments to adjust their minimum
wage up to address the cost of living in their communities, rather than
have to adhere to a statewide standard when local real estate markets and
health care costs vary dramatically.

House Democrats renewed our
push to ensure access family and medical leave for hardworking Coloradans
who need to take care of a sick relative or a new child. SB188
will help ensure an effective
implementation of the best possible family leave policy for Coloradans.

INVESTING IN COLORADO’S
FUTURE

Fighting for historic
investments in K-12 and
Higher Education: House Democrats passed
bills to fund full-day kindergarten for Colorado’s youngest learners, invest in
skills for Colorado’s emergingworkforce, help retain early childhood
and rural educators, and
allow school capital construction funding to be used for career and technical
education projects in public schools. House Democrats also added an additional
$100 million to buy-down the budget stabilization factor and better invest in
our K-12 schools. Democrats also kept higher-ed tuition
flat and provided more oversight for student loans.

Helping to lower the
cost of health care: This session Democrats
passed legislation to increase transparency for health care costs in Colorado’s
hospitals, prohibit
budget busting out-of-network billing,
reduce the price of insulin and lower
prescription drug costs by allowing for the importation of prescription drugs
from Canada.

House Democrats also
reached across the aisle to create a new affordable and competitive health care option
in the state of Colorado that will be available to families and individuals
when purchasing health insurance. Colorado will become the first state in the
nation to ever set in place a process for offering a public health insurance
option.

Democrats also passed a
bill that will strengthen Colorado’s laws to allow healthcare
cooperatives to incorporate consumer protections like coverage for preexisting
conditions and allow the State Insurance Commissioner to work with groups
seeking to create co-ops so that they can get up and running as soon as
possible to provide health care cost relief for Coloradans.

PROTECTING &
ENHANCING THE COLORADO WAY OF LIFE

Protecting Colorado’s
Environment

Coloradans are concerned
about the impacts of climate change on our economy and environment. That’s why
Democrats passed reasonable, science-based legislation directing the Air
Quality Control Commission (AQCC) to develop rules limiting carbon pollution,
ensuring that Colorado leads on climate action. HB19-1261 puts
pollution reduction goals into statute to reduce Colorado’s greenhouse gas
pollution by 26 percent by 2025, 50 percent by 2030, and 90 percent by 2050 of
2005 levels. The AQCC will hold an extensive stakeholder process throughout the
rulemaking period.

House Democrats also
passed SB181 to update
Colorado’s antiquated oil and gas laws to protect families and individuals from
residential drilling by putting health and safety first, empowering local
communities, and protecting our clean air and clean water.

Democrats also took
steps to deploy more renewable energy, protect clean water and
mitigate the impacts of wildfires on
Colorado’s mountain communities.

Addressing the Opioid
Crisis: The opioid epidemic in
the United States has claimed more lives than the entire Vietnam War. House Democrats
continued to pass bipartisan bills to
help battle this epidemic by getting
people the care and treatment they need and addressing prescribing practices.

Delivering
Transportation Solutions:
Coloradans are tired of the lack of investment in roads, bridges, and transit.
House Democrats worked on creative and collaborative solutions to our
transportation problems. House Democrats worked to secure more than $300 million for
transportation funding without jeopardizing education or higher-ed funding. In
November, voters will decide on a bipartisan ballot
measure better fund public schools, higher education and transportation.

Standing Up for Rural
Colorado: Legislators on both
sides of the aisle have worked to address the unique needs of rural Colorado. House
Democrats passed legislation to deploy more broadband infrastructure,
lower the cost of health care, improve access to mental health resources,
increase affordable housing,
address the rural teacher shortage,
and combat the opioid crisis.

Supporting
open and transparent government, fair campaigns, and access to the ballot:

House
Democrats also delivered on bipartisan efforts to reform Colorado’s criminal justice system and passed life-saving gun safety
legislation, put a
measure on the ballot to protect Colorado’s water, banned the dangerous and discredited practice of ‘conversion
therapy’ and cut through red tape for transgender and non-binary Coloradans to
have access to identity documents that reflect their authentic selves.